Google Plans to Shut Off Bump App

By John Adams

Published January 02, 2014, 11:23 a.m. EST

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Updated January 02, 2014, 10:23 a.m. EST

1 Min Read

Google will discontinue Bump and Flock, two file-sharing apps Google acquired when it purchased Bump Technologies last year.

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The move would appear to at least temporarily end Bump's long ride as a payments-enabling technology.

The apps will be shut down by the end of January, Bump CEO David Lieb writes in a blog post on the Bump website. The apps will be removed from the App Store and Google Play, and related data will be deleted, he writes. Users can open either app over the next month, and follow instructions to retrieve their data.

Bump allows users to tap their mobile phones together to transfer information. It uses the phone's motion sensor to detect the "bump" and initiate the data transfer.

PayPal was an early user of Bump's technology for payments, but removed Bump when it redesigned the PayPal app in 2012. Bump also developed mobile person to person payments technology in 2012, enabling PayPal transfers from its own app.

Bump did not return a request for comment by deadline. Its other app, Flock, is used primarily to share photos.

"In many ways, Bump was a revolutionary product that inspired many subsequent advances and helped push the world forward. We hope our new creations at Google will do the same," Lieb writes in his blog post.

Executive Editor, Payments

John Adams is executive editor of payments for American Banker. John interviews top executives in the payments, cryptocurrency and fintech... Read full bio

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